Mixed Blessings
by samanddianefan10
Summary: Alternate ending to The Engagement. After Max is mugged, the family and Fran rally around him. Fran realizes how much he has taught her.


Of all the kisses they'd ever shared, this could very well be the most significant kiss of their lives. Maxwell Sheffield was lying in a near coma and his almost –fiancee Fran Fine lay by his side as she waited for help to arrive.

"Don't leave me, my darling. I'll be here to protect you and to watch over you. I'll never leave your side. You are the light in my life, my everything. You are the air that I breathe. I will never be away from you, my love. You don't have to worry about anything except coming back to us. You have your children who love you and need you and I need you too. I wish I could be there with you right now. I'm so frightened, Max, but I'm going to be strong. You need me to be strong and I'm going to be the woman you need me to be right now. You don't have to worry about the children. You know how much I adore them and how they adore me. I'll protect them and guide them through all of this. Just give me your hand and show me some sign that you can hear me. Baby just one sign is all I'm asking. Please don't leave me." Fran cried as she held on to the hand of the man whom she loved so devotedly over the past few years. He didn't squeeze back. Still, she had to know if he had heard her. So she tenderly caressed his face and kissed him on the lips. If she didn't know any better she could have sworn that he'd kissed her back. At that point in time the paramedics and police arrived and so she let him go, but she knew in her heart that everything would be all right. It had to. It was her love that was lying on the ground, looking so helpless. Lying by his side was an engagement ring meant for her.

She picked it up and put it in her pocket.

"Is that yours, maam?" The officer questioned. Fran nodded.

"I'll have to have you step back. Are you all right?" She asked once she saw the blood on Fran's jacket?"

"I'm fine. It's Max that needs the help."

"Well we're going to need to take your statement. Don't go anywhere."

Fran looked down and turned away. She reached into her pocked and pulled out the three carat diamond ring that Max had picked out for her. She slipped it onto her right ring finger. Max would be alright, and he would place it onto the proper finger once he got out of the blasted hospital, she was sure of it. Until then she needed every reminder of his love that she could find. He did love her, and he wanted to marry her. Her poor sweet baby was lying alone in the ambulance stretcher, so cold and informal. The police questions would have to wait. She was riding with her man. He was not to be left alone. He would never be alone again, as long as he had her in his life. She'd vowed that to him before, and she kept her promises. So she went over to the officer and asked if they could continue the questioning at the hospital, and the officer agreed. She then hopped up into the ambulance and held Max's hand the whole time, kissing it now and then. Fran knew that she would never let him go.

So the police questioned her once they got there, and realized she didn't know anything. She had just stumbled across his body after he'd been late coming home. Now Fran realized she must tell the entire family. She called Niles, who broke the bad news to everyone. They raced to the hospital, where they saw a distraught Fran.

CC and Niles had put aside their bickering, and CC had even attempted to comfort the kids in the car.

"Your father is in good hands. She's with Nanny Fine, and she loves your father. She's going to make sure that he gets the best care possible."

Niles, though he was driving, noted her attempts, and placed his hand on hers for support. Even the ice queen had a melting point, and he wanted her to keep it together. He knew that as misguided as her feelings towards Max were, she did care for him and if anything should happen to him she would be devastated. Niles hated himself for even thinking about the possibility of anything happening to his boss. The children had already lost their mother. God could not be so cruel as to take their father as well. Maxwell Sheffield was a good and kind man, with a fair sense of humor and a flourishing business. He was an amazing father whose children adored him. He was a wonderful man to work for, he was often times more of a friend than a boss, well, especially with the nanny admittedly. But there was nothing that he wouldn't do for those he cared about, family, friends included. It couldn't be his time to go. He had too much to offer the world.

And Niles thought about Fran. He wondered how she was holding up through all of this. She loved that man for five years with her whole heart, getting very little in return at times. Or getting his love taken back, infuriatingly enough. She'd been patient and kind and gentle with him, the signs of a good wife, but Maxwell had been too blind or too stubborn to see what he'd had right in front of him the whole time. He said that he was afraid to marry again, after the death of his first wife. But that prevented him from offering his heart to another woman, and he'd missed out over five years of his life. Five years of the one woman who'd been capable of loving him unconditionally as well as loving his children and guiding them in the ways of life. But slowly, and somehow, Max had opened his eyes and his heart and welcomed in the new love of his life, Fran Fine, and on this very night a miracle was to have occurred. He was to have proposed marriage and they were to have entered a new and wonderful stage of their life. Niles couldn't help but think that it was still meant to be. Those two were meant to wed. It is not too late for true love to win out. This tragedy is just a temporary setback. Maxwell is going to be alright. He has to be. It breaks his heart thinking of the alternate.

Sylvia and Val sat in the back with the kids, talking about how everything was just fine. Sylvia projected a lot of confidence which was reassuring to everyone but CC.

"But what if he's not okay?" CC asked. "What if he's…."

Niles pulled over to the side of the road and kissed CC passionately. The kiss lasted for a few minutes.

The whole car grew silent.

"Mr. Sheffield is just fine and I don't want to hear another word from you. Do you understand me?"Niles said, looking at CC.

CC nodded. He took charge, and he needed to. She respected that. Tonight she would stay by Niles's side, for she knew that he was right. She was a strong woman, but tonight she needed someone stronger than herself. That person was Niles Brightmore.

Niles began to drive again, this time in complete silence. But something had changed. CC had reached over and held Niles' hand as he drove.

Finally CC spoke up, knowing she had to say something. "Fran's there. She's talking with the doctors. She's there with your dad. She's doing a great job handling herself. Thank God for Fran. I don't know what we'd do without her."

Then the kids started speaking up about Fran, talking about good things that they'd done for her. Sylvia joined in, sharing stories of things that she'd done for her. Niles smiled, proud of CC. It couldn't have been easy for her, but she was doing the right thing. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze to let her know he was proud of her.

00000

Back at the hospital Max had woken up, but was out of it. Fran was sitting by his side, singing to him Barbra Streisand songs. She had crawled up into bed next to him and was whispering sweet nothings to him.

"Max, you are my love. I found out about this ring. I know what you were going to ask me tonight. And do you want to know what my answer would have been? I would have said yes, with all of my heart. I would not have even thought twice about it. I have known that you were the one for me since the day I laid eyes on you. I've never seen a more handsome, more sophisticated , more sexy kinda guy. You always tell me I drive you crazy but you know what? You drive me crazy too, Mr. Sheffield. You've taught me so much. You've taught me how to open up and to live for someone other than myself. You've taught me how to love, how to be patient and kind, and I try to be those things every day. DIdn't say it works but I try. I never knew I had it in me to love someone so much that it hurts but in a good way. The kind of love that makes you keep going even though you don't know if there's anything for you. The kind where it makes you feel good just loving them for who they are. That kind of love is something I learned from you. It's made me a lot less selfish and I wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart. Cause I can't imagine my life not knowing how to love now that I've met you. You've opened my eyes and I just really want to take the time to say thank you, Mister Sheffield. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Fran dried her eyes and kissed Max's lips. His eyes began to flutter.

"What is it, baby? Are you coming back to me? Are you coming back to me? Baby, I'm here! Wake up!" Fran yelled as she got out of bed and began kissing his cheek.

"Fran, darling…..where am I?" Max stuttered out.

"You're in the hospital. You were mugged and hurt pretty badly! But you're going to be okay.""

Max opened his eyes and looked at her. " Did you mean all of those things that you just said to me?"

"You heard me?"

"I did."

"I meant every word I said, baby."

"Then I just have one question ." Max grabbed Fran's hands, and feeling her right hand, he pulled off the ring that she'd placed on there.

"Will you marry me?"

"I will!" She beamed with delight as he slid the ring on her left ring finger.

At that very moment, Niles, CC, Sylvia and the kids all walked in.

CC braced herself by grabbing Niles' hand, who pulled her in closer to him. The kids all ran to their dad and gave him a hug. And Sylvia and Fran jumped up and down for joy.

All the commotion attracted the attention of a doctor, who recommended limiting M ax's visitors to two at a time. It was agreed that they would start with the kids.

In the waiting room, Fran sat next to Niles. "You know what, I think we're on to something good here. He loves me and he didn't take it back. He proposed to me and he didn't take that back either. He's going to be fine. I'm not going to be Fine anymore. Life has really thrown me for a curve."

"I know what you mean, Miss Fine." Niles said, referring to CC who was still holding Niles' hand.

"But life is good. We've got our friends, our family, and our health. We've been blessed. And now there's going to be a wedding. Niles, I can't complain. My fiancée is lying in the hospital bed after getting mugged but he's going to be okay and that's the important thing. So I feel blessed. "

"Life blessings come mixed sometimes, don't they? They come at really bad times but sometimes good things come out of bad problems." Niles sagely offered.

"Here's to mixed blessings!"


End file.
